Abuse victim 'glad to hold church to account'

"The amount of damages is unimportant as my main motivation was to hold the Jesuit priesthood and the Catholic Church publicly accountable for what happened.

"The church and their insurers Zurich made every effort to fight this case all the way and that gives an indication of the attitude of the church in these circumstances.

"I am glad I had the strength of will to drag the Catholic Church into the public domain and expose the implacable, intransigent way it fights opponents - in sharp contrast to the empty and tepid expressions of regret for public consumption.

"The last seven years have been tough, and I thank my courageous family, my legal team, all the witnesses and everyone else who supported me."